WBCS Strategy-Interview with Mr. Tathagata Ghosh 10th Rank CTO, WBCS 2011

We thank Mr Tathagata Ghosh for sparing a few minutes for this interview.Continue Reading WBCS Strategy-Interview With Mr. Tathagata Ghosh 10th Rank CTO, WBCS 2011.

WBCSMADEEASY:-When and how did the inspiration and idea of joining civil service come in your mind?

Tathagata Ghosh:-I was in class 12 when one day I sat down with my Sister and she asked me what do I want from my job, my priorities. Listening to me she suggested Civil Service. She brought me a frontline Magazine and a book on constitution to start with. Then things followed. The more I learned about the career in civil service the more I fall for it. It was in the 1st year of my college when I firmly made up my mind to pursue Civil Service.

WBCSMADEEASY:-Tell us something about yourself? Educational Qualification, Marks/Division/Class, schooling…..

Tathagata Ghosh:-Well, I did my Schooling from Hind motor High School and my graduation (Zoology hnrs B.Sc) from Scottish Church College. I scored 85% in Madhyamik (2005), 84% in H.S (2007) and 68% in B.Sc (2010).

WBCSMADEEASY:-What factors did you consider before selecting your optionals? What were they?

Tathagata Ghosh:-As I was entirely new to the arena and had no body of my acquaintances who could help me in this regard I went for the safest pair…Anthropology and History. I had zoology in my graduation and so it helped me a lot with my 1st optional subject. And for History I followed Books and materials of some of the institutes available.

WBCSMADEEASY:-How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Well, I did mention that I graduated in the middle of 2010 and so it can easily be fathomed that I had very little time for my preparation for Prelims that was scheduled to be held on January 2011. I got only 7 months or so in full. After that I started with my Mains preparation and it gave me quite a trying time. I had to dig in many such subjects which were completely new to me and that too within a very short span of time. So, my hands were full as you can understand.

WBCSMADEEASY:-How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of Compulsory and optional subjects?

Tathagata Ghosh:-I had to study everyday but did so with no pre- fixed hours in mind. I did my prelims in 6-7 months and I continued my preparations for the compulsory subjects along with my Optionals from january 2011 to the onset of Mains in july. to add to that I never could complete my syllabus as they are of gargantuan size but I did prepare quite well the part that I managed to study.

WBCSMADEEASY:-Did u use internet, was it effective?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Yes… I put internet to use drastically. I blogged that helped me develop my essays , i read blogs and followed the news and followed some other sites for new government policies that were coming up.

WBCSMADEEASY:-Which newspapers & magazines you went through?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Times Of India, AnandaBazar Patrika (especially this before my interview). For the magazines Competition Infocus, Pratiyogita Darpan, Frontline.

WBCSMADEEASY:- Did u took coaching? How was the experience?

Tathagata Ghosh:-As I said I was just starting out in this entirely new field and had none to sort things out for me while I often found myself confused I did take coaching from an institute and that was quite helpful, mostly for the Prelims.

WBCSMADEEASY:-What about Interview in WBCS? Was the board cordial? What should be a proper preparation?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Interview was a different game altogether as I found it. The board was cordial but pretty intensive too. I had to tackle questions one after the other shot from every direction from every field possible. Starting with word affairs, world history, current happenings in the country to my Optional Subjects, my personal preferences, personal interests… almost everything. For Interview I really don’t think anything can prepare you. you have to be well prepared from within and that is it. Feel yourself to be an important person who is going in for a tête-à-tête with some very important persons and please involve yourself in the discussion. the only tip is: Make the conversation as much light and witty as possible and DO NOT LET BOREDOM TAKE OVER THEM. USE YOUR OWN VIEWS AND WORDS… NOT TEXT BOOK ORIENTED. the don’t like it. And above all Be a Diplomat while answering trick questions.

WBCSMADEEASY:-Plz suggest some good books for pre, comp, optional.

Tathagata Ghosh:-For prelims, Books By TMH, Arihant for compulsory subjects. One might use R.S aggarwal for maths, DD basu/ NCERT books for constitution…though only NCERT books will not suffice. for history: jiban mukhopadhyay, Siddhartha Guha Roy. Social anthropology by majumdar/madan, Indian anthropology by R.N. Sharma, nadeem Hasnan… Shukla & Rastogi : Physical Anthropology & Human Genetics.

WBCSMADEEASY:-What should be the strategy for cracking this exam?What message you want to give to all aspirants?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Strategy can be summarized as Amass as much information in as much less time as possible. Effort should be given but in a well planned manner, otherwise you’ll end up wasting time and your efficacy. Try to crack it in the very first attempt as that is the time when one has the fullest energy dedicated for the purpose. Aim for excellence and perfection. the time for the whole process is very long…that is the most irritating part. for me it took 2 yrs 6 months to get my final result! So have patience!

WBCSMADEEASY:-Anything else u want to share?

Tathagata Ghosh:-I have shared almost everything if not everything!

WBCSMADEEASY:-Was it ur 1st attempt? If not what about previous ones? You are from which batch and what was your rank in WBCS Exam (Plz don’t mind)?

Tathagata Ghosh:-Yes, this was my first attempt in 2011. For the rank I am not sure that this can be told with any certainty as PSC is yet to publish the marks of the individual candidate and that won’t be done until Gr C and D final result is out which may take another 8 months. Though I can say that my name is listed at the 10th position in the list of Commercial Tax Officers.

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